Their
mission to the International Space Station complete,
the crewmembers of STS-88 snapped this photo of the
fledgling station with its new Unity Node attached.
The Node is on the right side of the image.

Endeavour
Delivers Unity Node to International Space Station
STS-88, the 13th flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, began
the largest international cooperative space venture in history
as it attached together in orbit the first two modules of
the International Space Station. STS-88 was the first human
International Space Station assembly flight.

The primary
mission objective was to rendezvous with the already launched
Zarya Control Module and successfully attach the Unity Node,
providing the foundation for future station components.

Zarya
was boosted into orbit by a Russian Proton rocket from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan. Funded by the U.S. but built
in Russia, Zarya will act as a type of space tugboat for the
early station, providing propulsion, power, communications
and the capability to perform an automated rendezvous and
docking with the third module, the Russian-provided Service
Module, an early living quarters. After achieving orbit, Zarya
went through on-orbit checks as it awaited the arrival of
Unity. Unity will serve as the main connecting point for later
U.S. station modules and components.

Commander
Bob Cabana flew Endeavour to a rendezvous with Zarya, and
Currie used the shuttle's robotic arm to capture the Russian-built
spacecraft and attach it to the Unity Node in the payload
bay. At the time, Zarya was the most massive object ever moved
with the shuttle's remote manipulator system.

Mission
Specialists Jerry Ross and Jim Newman completed three spacewalks
during the mission. After the assembly work was completed
and it undocked from the station, Endeavour released two small
science satellites.

STS-88
Mission Specialist Jerry Ross, above, and crewmate Jim
Newman conducted three spacewalks while the shuttle was
docked to the space station.

Crew
Conducts Three Station Assembly Spacewalks
Mission Specialists Jerry Ross and Jim Newman completed three
spacewalks during STS-88. During the spacewalks, Ross and
Newman made all umbilical connections necessary to activate
Node 1, installed handrails and foot restraint sockets, early
communications system antennas and routing of the comm cable
from the Zarya to the starboard antenna, beginning five years
of orbital assembly work that will construct the new space
station.